Tag: ESPN Power Rankings

1. The Jets hopped up to #8 in ESPN’s Power Rankings. Generally, more and more people seem to be jumping on the team’s bandwagon now after their victory over the Pats. It is funny listening people talk about guys like Darrelle Revis and Leon Washington like they just appeared out of thin air. The Jets have had talent, it just seems that now they have the right quarterback and head coach. However, let’s not get crazy…it is only week 2. It is easy to feel unbeatable right now, but a loss will come at some point and how this team responds to adversity will be interesting to see.

2. Apparently Lito Sheppard only had a severe cramp in his quad and is expected to play this week despite potentially being limited in practice. Donald Strickland’s status is a little more up in the air.

Wrapping Up Jets/Patriots

Defensive Player of the Game: Darrelle Revis – He won the award last week with David Harris, and this week he gets it by himself. Don’t let the lack of respect shown by Randy Moss fool you, Revis is a legit lock down corner. Outside of Ed Reed, I wouldn’t trade this guy for another defensive back in football. Remember the Andre Johnson who had no impact in the Jets/Texans game? Yea, well that same guy went for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns last week against a quality Titans defense

Offensive Player of the Game: Jerricho Cotchery – The Jets number wide-out kick started the second half with a 45 yard catch, which led to their go ahead touchdown. Cotchery continues to be excellent after the catch and is a sure-handed, reliable target for Mark Sanchez.

Honorable Mentions: Donald Strickland for being all over the field…Dwight Lowery for stepping up when Lito Sheppard was hurt…Dustin Keller for being the red-zone target the Jets need him to be…Shaun Ellis for a consistent, quality effort in his first game of the season…Kerry Rhodes for leading the team in tackles…The Jets fans for creating a serious home field advantage.

AFC East Observations

New England Patriots – What do you call a team with a quarterback who can’t complete passes under pressure, no consistent running game, a suspect defense, and a difficult schedule? You call them the 2009 New England Patriots. The Pats are going to have their hands full the next two weeks against the Falcons and Ravens. 1-3 is not out of the question.

Buffalo Bills – They have been impressive through the first two weeks of the regular season and if it weren’t for Leodis McKlevin, they’d be 2-0 right now. Fred Jackson is playing out of his mind right now and Trent Edwards is spreading the ball around well. However, their inexperienced offensive line and entire defense are serious questions for this team.

Miami Dolphins – I loved watching Channing Crowder, Joey Porter, and Jason Taylor get shredded up by Peyton Manning last night. It was like he was playing a high school defense. Chad actually played pretty well but when he is your quarterback, you can’t manage any come from behind victories since every touchdown drive needs to be 19 plays. The Wildcat looked good last night, but that stuff isn’t working on a Rex Ryan defense. 6-10 Miami, 6-10. I can’t wait to play there on Monday Night in a few weeks.

Five Teams That Impressed Me

New York Giants – Even as a Jets fan, I enjoyed watching the G-Men ruin the Cowboys home opener. Mario Manningham is a player.

Baltimore Ravens – Joe Flacco looks like an all-pro right now, which is scary to combine with Baltimore’s defense.

Indianapolis Colts – Peyton is surgical with that offense, even throwing to division 3 receivers. I am available right now, if the Colts are looking.

Five Teams That Looked Like Garbage

Cleveland Browns – There is nothing like a combination of Eric Mangini’s paranoia and blowout losses.

Dallas Cowboys – Protect the ball Tony, protect the ball.

Kansas City Chiefs – You lost in Oakland in your building? Ut-oh.

Carolina Panthers – Could be a long season for a team with playoff aspirations coming into the year.

St. Louis Rams – 2-14 sounds about right.

Other Observations

I can’t believe how anemic the Redskins offense has become. They barely edged out the St. Louis Rams, who are like a college team at this point. Everybody in the stadium was pulling for the Lions to get their first win in 19 games against Favre and the Vikings, unfortunately AP saved the day for #4. The Falcons are looking like the real deal this season. The battle between them and the Saints for the NFC South should be fun to watch. I was very surprised by the bounce-back performance from the Texans against the Titans. Maybe the Jets are just that good…

Jets vs. Titans First Look

The Opponent: Coming off a 13-3 2008 season, the Titans were considered serious contenders in the AFC this season. After a tough opening night loss to the defending champs, where they played very well, Tennessee had a big let down loss to the Houston Texans at home last week. They now sit at 0-2 and are facing a desperation game against the Jets. I am sure the Titans remember the beatdown the Jets handed them in their building last year to end their bid for a perfect season. Running back Chris Johnson is coming off a monster game is one of the top playmakers in the league, and the Titans always have a stingy defense. The schedule makers weren’t kind to the Jets, as they face another tough opponent this week.

Key Players: Chris Johnson is the Titans most explosive player and can score from anywhere on the field. Kenny Britt and Nate Washington are both big play receivers, with good speed. Kyle Vaden Bosch and Jason Jones lead a very strong front four, while Keith Bulluck is consistently one of the better linebackers in the league. Cortland Finnegan is a pro-bowl quality corner, who had an interception against the Jets last year.

Injuries: Donald Strickland and Lito Sheppard will both likely be limited all week in practice, but should be able to go by Sunday. David Thorton and Nate Washington both returned from injury last week for the Titans.

Early Story Lines: Titans are desperate at 0-2…Jets guarding against let down game after emotional win over Pats…Jets embarrassed Titans last season…Kevin Mawae returns to the Meadowlands.